Excerpts from Ritual Practices to Gain PowerHekhalot adjurations and ritual practices of late antiquityThe Hekhalot adjurations do not stand in isolation; they participate rather in a largerphenomenon of incantation, adjuration, and use of amulets in late antiquity. Ritualssimilar in structure and purpose to the Hekhalot revelatory adjurations exist in Egyptiantexts for ritual power in Greek, Demotic, and Coptic, and in the Jewish collection ofadjurations, Sefer ha-Razim. The Hekhalot rituals of ascent to the Merkabah are alsosimilar to ascents to heaven occurring in Gnostic literature and the Greco-Egyptian ritualtexts. Hekhalot images of the world of the divine throne and the angels recur in JewishAramaic amulets from Palestine and Babylonia and in a Jewish visionary text known asthe Visions of Ezekiel.

Revelatory adjurations form only one part of the ritual literature of late antiquity inGreek, Latin, Demotic, Coptic, Hebrew, or Aramaic. The Greco-Egyptian papyri, forexample, contain many spells for healing from various diseases, gaining love, improvingmemory, overcoming one's enemies, ridding a house of insects, and consecrating amulets.Sefer ha-Razim similarly includes spells to influence nobles and powerful people to helpthe adjurer. In addition to the texts on papyrus, numerous amulets inscribed on metalstrips, earthenware bowls, gemstones, or papyrus have come to light in archeologicalexcavations. These texts include erotic spells, spells against one's enemies, incantationsseeking victory in the chariot races or court, success in business, protection of children,and expulsion of demons. This literature is concerned both with the transcendent goals ofcontact with divine or semidivine beings, and the mundane problems of everyday life.The goals of these texts may vary widely, but their techniques are related, especially theuse of mystical names consisting of divine and angelic names or strings ofincomprehensible letters.

Showing seals (hotamot) to angelsThe Hekhalot adjurations differ significantly from the Sefer ha-Razim and the Greco-Egyptian adjurations in the use of material objects, offerings of various kinds, and thekilling of animals. Symbolic use of objects, offerings, and slaughter of animals areubiquitous in the Greco-Egyptian adjurations; the written or spoken adjuration is only onepart of the entire ritual. Materials used in the rituals include bowls or lamps fordivination, amulets or seals, altars or tripods or tables, and statues of the gods. The onlyobject that is mentioned frequently in the Hekhalot literature is the seal, mentioned bothin connection with the adjuration of angels for wisdom and in connection with the ascentto the Merkabah. Meir Bar-Ilan interprets those passages that prescribe 'sealing oneself'for protection at the time that angels descend as a physical writing or engraving of namesor symbols on the limbs of the body.

In the adjuration of the Angel of the Presence in Ma'aseh Merkabah, for example, R.Ishmael says: "Seven seals I sealed on myself when Padqaras the Angel of the Presencedescended." He gives different names to protect the different parts of the body: "on my

feet," "on my heart," "on my right arm," "on my left arm," "on my throat," "for guardingmy soul," and "above them all, 'P PT YHW YW YW ZHW YHW TYTS above myhead." Bar-Ilan says, "It is not clear how exactly they (the seals) were made, but it seemsthat different seals were engraved on the limbs of the praying mystic, and were aninseparable part of his methods for the attaining of the divine vision." In his discussion hepoints both to Jewish precedents for the writing of letters or symbols on the body as asign that the person was a slave of God, and to the same phenomenon in the magicalliterature.

If you are interested in magic and ritual power in late antiquity in general, Gideon Bohakhas put up an extensive on-line magic exhibit.It has text and pictures of various kinds ofamulets and Aramaic incantation bowls.

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This page maintained by: Rebecca LessesLast revised January 4, 2006